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The Everything NHL Thread
- Thread starter Jackal
- Start date
Poor McDavid, Edmonton was one of the worst places he could have gone. Would love for him to pull a Lindros, but I doubt that happens.
As someone who's endured the past 9 years of Oiler ineptitude, I couldn't be happier. There's finally a light at the end of the tunnel. They're not there yet, but winning the McDavid sweepstakes probably fast tracked the process of Edmonton returning to the playoffs by 3 years.
Did the Oilers management deserve this? No. Did the fans? Absolutely.
Did the Oilers management deserve this? No. Did the fans? Absolutely.
The Oilers Front Office has proved time and time again not to be competent enough to put together a solid NHL team. All I see from Oilers fans is Kevin Lowe hate. Oilers have deeply rooted issues that aren't going to be fixed by getting McDavid the same way they haven't been fixed by Hall, RNH etc. They should do a FO nuke before the draft so that they can have hope as you say. Because if not, the guys in charge will find a way to fuck this up and you know it.
As for the possible trades, Eberle has been an object of rumors for ages, if anyone's leaving it's him. If they package him with Draisaitl they could get a VERY interesting return. The problem will be finding a trade partner willing to give up a top-2 D. Toronto maybe, but Phaneuf is still going to be miserable in Edmonton so idk. Yakupov is staying, they'd be foolish to trade him.
Lastly, I'm fucking pissed McDavid isn't going to the East, could have been another Sid vs Ovie but with a lot more potential. Just imagine if Leafs won, the rivalry would be through the damn roof... :(
Ya the Oilers have just had franchise player after franchise player slip through their fingers with the only one having moderate success being Hall and he isn't doing enough for them. They consistently squander any chance of building a complete team and focus solely on offence, for a while I thought they had some genius rebuilding plan but now it is clear that whoever is giving the orders there has no idea how to run a hockey team. I feel like the biggest problem is that the front office is filled with "old boys", players from the Oilers' golden days that will never be fired. At this point it is really looking like a kid bored on a Saturday just pressing the sim button on NHL 14 trying to see what random team he can get.
It's not that their best players are not good, Hall is one of the best wingers in the game, RNH is becoming a solid 1C, Eberle has incredible skill. The problem is that they're expected to carry the load on their shoulders, in the same way Gretzky/Messier did back when. They're all very good players, but you don't build a team by having 3 good players. The Oilers FO has failed at surrounding them with capable supporting cast. You can't pin it all on them though, Edmonton is not a popular FA destination and even keeping your own guys is hard, as we've seen with Petry this season. So because the players are reluctant to come to Edmonton, they have to throw money at them, which sometimes works out alright even though it looks stupid at first (Pouliot) or it doesn't (Nikitin). This issue might be fixed by getting competent management, McDavid is not enough of a reason for FAs to come. There has to be smart trading, we've seen glimpses of MacT figuring it out, acquiring Roy was huge for Yak so we'll see where they go from here. He has the assets, all that's needed is a couple smart deals or maybe one blockbuster? Finding a trade partner will be hard, not going after Boychuk or Leddy seems like a huge mistake right now. Chicago might be willing to part with someone like Hjalmarsson to save cap space maybe? Other than that there's uhhh, Toronto? They can always try throwing money at Franson/Sekera, but I don't expect that to work.
Where did I say they were bad? I simply said that the way the FO has built the team has made it impossible for them to reach their expectations. I'm sure if Eberle/Hall/Hopkins/Yak were traded to any other team they would immediately start producing better numbers than they ever have with the Oilers. Also, the Oilers have more pieces to trade than any team in the league right now, and I agree, if they want to rebuild they have to do it now. Build around McDavid and cut off the fat you don't need for the defensive core you do need. The problem is that everyone has been saying this for years just with whatever hot prospect instead of McDavid but nothing has been done. I literally can't even poke fun at Oilers fans because it has gone beyond them just sucking to the point where it looks like the FO is sabotaging themselves. I think we should all pray for Oilers fans right now that something will finally click in the FO's heads during the offseason. Very frustrating to see.
I think the problems with players that are used to losing is that they just continue doing what they're doing. Franson was a top D man in Toronto and is seriously better than a few of Nashville's D but he can barely crack the line up because he's so used to his bad habits. Same with Sekera.
While Nashville can afford to take a risk and try to break their bad habits, the Oilers actually need someone to break the habits for their team. They need a solid well-rounded player. The Jets picked up Frolik and he's brought a winning mentality to the club which made him integral to the team beyond his skill. The Isles picked up two cup-winning defenseman that are used to winning and it completely revamped their team. I think the Oilers need to follow those two club's actions if they want to rejuvenate their team. Oh and a fucking Goalie...
Sucks when you finish 2nd worst and have a better chance of getting bumped down instead of staying pat. Remind me why non-NFL sports do weighted lotteries again? Never did make sense to me if you really want to believe the whole "no team ever intentionally tanks" spiel, or is parity not that good in other sports? And yeah, how does Edmonton get to pick first in the last 4/6 drafts?
isn't this also what everyone said each time the oilers landed one of their previous three 1st overall picks in the past five years... XD
i'm happy for edmonton fans but wowza this front office is hilariously lucky. as long as they don't ruin the career of da boss DARNELL NURSE i'll be happy
My question is why the hell aren't they playing Nurse? Seems like exactly what they could use on D.
yep, makes sense doesn't it >.>
but even more this time since conor is considered a crosby level talent
yeah, mcdavid is a franchise changer, but even w/crosby & malkin in pittsburgh they needed actual depth in order to win a cup, and the oilers can't draft for shit outside of their round 1 picks. this makes them a lot better but they still have no defense and no goaltending
If you all remember, toward the end of the season, the Oilers were scoring in bunches. But their goaltending was a goddamned joke, which is why they'd routinely give up leads and lose games 5-4 and 6-5. If they can pick up a top-4 d-man to replace Petry and find COMPETENT goaltending, they'll compete next season.
Holy Shit that Game 7 was the worst/best thing I've watched in a long ass time. What a game. So Bolts/Rangers and Hawks/Ducks in the Conference Finals. I'll go with Hawks/Rangers to win those series.
Been awhile doodz. Apparently this thread isn't as active as it used to be =[ Since this page still has Connor McDavid stuff:
idk I mean there have definitely been moral problems within the organization for quite some time and a great coach might be able to get some of these guys motivated but, in the end these are all adults who are playing at the top level in the world so I don't think a different bench boss will suddenly help these guys become a playoff team. A great, experienced coach like Babcock will make a difference for a team when they are deep in the playoffs and the guys need a cool head who's been there before to tell them what they need to do to win but, the Leafs don't look like they are gonna get deep in the playoffs anytime soon unless they make some serious roster changes like Aladyyn said.
I think Babcock's decision seals Kessel's fate as Maple Leaf and keeps Dion in Toronto if Babs and Shanny decide that one of them needs to be moved. Wings were pursuing him at the deadline. Either way, Leafs are still going to be pretty bad for a pretty long time, it's like putting lipstick on a pig in the short term IMO. Maybe it pays off when guys like Reilly, Nylander, etc. have developed, but I don't think this changes the Leafs all that much for now.
No one, absolutely no one, is looking at this as a short term fix. Babcock excels as a coach and his systems will make the Leafs tangibly better. Having the young guys come into the team through that system will only benefit us long term. We've got Reilly (future captain and 1a defenseman), Nylander, Gardiner, Kadri, and Marner/Strome as the core of our future. Babcock signing for 8 years shows that he's bought into the commitment of a future champion. Realistically our development timeline is playoffs in three years, Cup contenders in five.
Phaneuf's value to the Leafs right now is as a minutes eater, nothing more. He doesn't play into the long-term plans of the team. Someone will give up a mid round pick+decent prospect+salary dump for him. Kessel is more contentious, could play into the long term future as he'll be only 33 when we're really hitting our stride. If we can get serious value for him (such as NJ or WAS first round pick, I've heard Kessel for WAS pick+prospect+Semin salary dump) he'll move, otherwise they'll likely try and integrate him into Babcock's system. JVR is more likely to be moved in a package for a first round pick however.
With respect to the development of our young players we're stepping up our game with the Marlies and with our amateur scouting. We added another guy Hunter knows to our scouting department and the next Marlies coach is likely Sheldon Keefe, formerly under Kyle Dubas with the Soo Greyhounds. Looking to create a situation akin to the Wings having Blashill developing players and giving compensation if he gets signed.
Shanahan is full-throttle with the Shanaplan and the term on this Babcontract makes me think he's bought in as well.
Phaneuf's value to the Leafs right now is as a minutes eater, nothing more. He doesn't play into the long-term plans of the team. Someone will give up a mid round pick+decent prospect+salary dump for him. Kessel is more contentious, could play into the long term future as he'll be only 33 when we're really hitting our stride. If we can get serious value for him (such as NJ or WAS first round pick, I've heard Kessel for WAS pick+prospect+Semin salary dump) he'll move, otherwise they'll likely try and integrate him into Babcock's system. JVR is more likely to be moved in a package for a first round pick however.
With respect to the development of our young players we're stepping up our game with the Marlies and with our amateur scouting. We added another guy Hunter knows to our scouting department and the next Marlies coach is likely Sheldon Keefe, formerly under Kyle Dubas with the Soo Greyhounds. Looking to create a situation akin to the Wings having Blashill developing players and giving compensation if he gets signed.
Shanahan is full-throttle with the Shanaplan and the term on this Babcontract makes me think he's bought in as well.